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Monday, December 5, 2011
Debatable Topic: Expectations Too High for Education
My topic is going to be about the immense pressure and overwhelming work load put on kids at too young of an age. In this modern age, children are expected to perform academically at a higher standard than enjoyably possible. Everyone only gets one life so why would kids want to spend their one and only childhood sitting in a classroom studying most the day for as much as 220 days a year. We were not put on this earth just to spend 1/4 of our only life inside, and feeling miserable. Not only does the amount of time in school overwhelm a child, but the homework load and the height of the bar for expectations is too high that it creates a kid's mind into a stressful, uncomfortable, and self-destroying place. Modern kids are slackers and underachievers because the expectations are too high and they accept "failure" and have no self-confidence, and this all ends up creating a mentally distraught mind that has actually been destroyed, instead of enhanced, by the almost unreachable goal of success. So kids are expected to do more than their mind is ready for.
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I don't mean to be rude, but I disagree quite a bit. In a capitalistic society, those who succeed must work hard to make it, these expectations aren't something that schools just make up, they are based on actual skills you will need to posses to be successful in "the real world". It's fine if you want to have an enjoyable childhood, which is certainly also possible while focusing heavily on academics, but if you expect to succeed you should also expect a shitload of work. Not trying to dissuade you of this topic, rather just pointing out things you should take into account and possibly counter in your argument.
ReplyDeleteAustin,
ReplyDeleteNathan makes some good points (you should take note of these as positions you'll want to rebut early on in your presentation). Think back to the Transcendentalists (and Thoreau in particular) for resources to argue that we need to re-evaluate our approach to our lives in these modern times.